KABUL, 10 March 2013 – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemns the two suicide attacks carried out by anti-government forces on 9 March 2013, which resulted in the deaths of at least 19 civilians, including nine children, and the wounding of at least another 31 civilians.

The attacks – one in the capital, Kabul, outside of the premises of the Ministry of Defense, and the other in the south-eastern province of Khost, targeting an Afghan National Police foot patrol – resulted in the high number of civilian casualties, with minimal impact on their purported military targets.

UNAMA renews its call for all anti-government elements to stop the use of improvised explosive devices and suicide attacks against civilians or in public locations frequented primarily by civilians. In particular, UNAMA notes that the indiscriminate use of such tactics, which fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants, is a violation of international humanitarian law.

UNAMA offers its condolences to the families of the victims killed in the attacks, and wishes a speedy recovery for the wounded.